Morphine

nine: lucky

The fresh smell of the grass has a surprisingly calm effect on me. It promises a new beginning and a serene life. The tiny droplets of dew on a leaf show me how something so small can be so incredibly beautiful. The urge to take a picture is growing; I wish I had my camera with me. The sky spreads above me into distant unknown lands, places I can only imagine. Two small birds fly above me. Free. Liberated. The dress I'm wearing is a simple one. Light blue, high neck, sleeveless. I run my hands through my messy hair and wonder where I am. All this looks too beautiful to actually exist. 

From where I come, it probably doesn't.

The sudden heat around my neck, confirms that. I frantically try to turn around, but something is holding me in place. Something as hard as stone. The heat intensifies, burning the cloth and the skin on my neck. Even through my desperate screams - that make my own ears go numb - my fingers try to loosen the tight grip of something leathery around my neck. It only tightens. Hot. So hot. Too hot.

"Meira" Mum shakes my shoulders. Blinking a couple of times, I focus on her face. No sky. No birds. No dew. It was a nightmare. "Meira, are you alright?" She looks at me with concern.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I realise I'm sweating heavily. I miss the freshness from the nightmare.

"It didn't sound okay. It sounded like you were choking." She says pushing my hair away from my face. Her eyebrows have stopped scrunching whenever she looks at my hair. Her classy styles and hair-care instincts clearly haven't been passed down to me, otherwise I'd never have blatantly snapped at my hair in Bansik's lair. But she understands that and even though she hasn't mentioned it, she's waiting for my hair to grow longer so she can take charge. "You have to talk to me," She says. "Please."

I pull myself into a sitting position and stretch my arms so I can give her a hug. "I-I had a nightmare.."

She rubs my shoulders in soothing patterns. I sigh and close my eyes. "Do you want to tell me about it?" She asks softly.

"It felt like I was standing on some sort of hill. Everything was so beautiful. Like a picture. It was peaceful." I tell her in a groggy voice. "The-then suddenly there's something being tied around my neck, and it's s-so hot, it starts burning. It burns this really beautiful dress I was wearing. Someone or something was holding me really t-tight."

Whip. It was a whip around my neck. My nightmares were never this vivid before.

Mum listens patiently through my stuttered, brief description. She pulls away and holds my shoulders. "You were wearing a dress?"

I burst out laughing. Out of everything I just said, that's the only thing she hears. She smiles fondly at me. I'm so glad Mum can make me feel better by not putting me through awkward - at least for me - conversations.  She laughs along with me and kisses my forehead. "You sure you want to go to college today?" She says after a while. "You don't have to if you're not feeling alright,"

Wow. My own mother giving me permission to not attend college. If it were any other day, I'd have gladly said yes.

"No, that's okay. I'm fine."

"Alright then. Go get ready."

After thirty minutes, I'm clean amd prepared to see how today will go. The minute I go downstairs,  Milan grabs my hand and after a loud 'Bye Mum!' we drive over to Chase's house.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Ewan, Freya and Jessamine had already arrived at Chase's house. They all have packed a small bag and are waiting for Milan and me. Chase's house is like any other house. Not too grandiose, but not too shabby.